Motor-vehicle.



No. GQJBI. Patented Dec. 3|, I90I.

' W. J. & G. LANE.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

(Application mea nu. e, 1901.) l (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

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No. 690,!61. Patented Dec. 3|, 190|.

W. J. & G. LANE.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

` (Application med Hm'. 6, IWI.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

WITNESSES: I h INVETORS BY of' i s ATTRNEY Unrtnn STATES cl" OFFICE.

WVILLIAM JAMES LANE AND GEORGE LANE, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO THE LANE MOTOR VEHICLE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MOTOR-VEHICLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 690,161, dated December 31, 1901.

Application led March 6, 1901.

.To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that we, WILLIAM JAMES LANE and GEORGE LANE, citizens of the United States, residing at Poughkeepsie, county of Dutchess, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to motor-Vehicles of` the type designed to be operated by steam.

Our invention consists in a construction whereby the air-pressure exerted over the fuel in the fuel-supply tank may be maintained constant whether the vehicle be in motion or at rest, and, further, a reserve airsupply maintained for use in the fuel-tank after the fuel-tank has been emptied and refilled.

Our invention further relates to Various details of construction of the airpump, the means by which the pressure of the air-pump may be regulated, aswell as various other details, which will be set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

The object of our invention is to automatically maintain a constant or approximately constant air-pressure over the liquid fuel in the fuel-tank of the vehicle, and thereby provide for a constant pressure of the fuel delivered to the burner.

In all motor-vehicles of which we are aware the air-supply is created by a hand-pump, with the result that the pressure over the fuel-supply is a constantly-decreasing quantity and the fuel is supplied to the burner at a decreasing pressure, with the result that it is practicallyimpossible to regulate the quantity of fuel supplied to the burner in accordance with the work, a result which is most perfectly accomplished by our improved construction.

The accompanying drawings will serve to illustrate our invention, in Which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a motor-vehicle and escape-flue for the products of combustion, the air, naphtha and Water tank, engine, boiler, and pipe connections being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan View. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the engine, showing the relation of the air and water pumps to the engine. Fig. lis a detail in Serial No. 50,136. (No model.)

section of the air-pump and the regulatingvalve for the pump. Fig. 5 is a detail, partially in elevation and partially in section, of the air-tank,airgage, and controlling-valves. Fig. `6 is a diagram intended to illustrate the operation of the air-pump.

In the drawings, 10 indicates the body cfa motor-vehicle. The body shown is that of an ordinary one-seated vehicle commonly known as a runabout We, however, may use any form of vehicle -body to which our apparatus may be adapted. V

Located under the seat of the vehicle is a water-tank 11, and behind the water-tank is a vertical-tube boiler 12, and under the boiler a burner 13. Any type of boiler and burner may be employed. Located in front of the seat is a fuel-tank 14, and in front of the fuelt-ank an air-tank 15.

Located below the vehicle-body is a steammotor devicelG. Situated at the back of the vehicle is a vertical iiue 17, which communicates with the horizontal iiue 1S, located over the boiler. The tine 17 is open` at the top and bottom and communicates at the top with a transversely-disposed due 19, which is open at its ends 20. IVe do not in any wise limit ourselves to the particular arrangement or disposition of the ues for the products of combustion. IVe prefer, however, that the top of the boiler shoul'd communicate with the atmosphere by an upturned Iiue, and We may or may not use a downturned fine, like flue 18, through which the whole or a portion of the products of combustion may be forced by the action of a steam-jet or other propelling force.

21 indicates a live-steam pipe from boiler to steam-motor device; 22, a throttle-valve in this pipe; 23, an exhaust-pipe from steammotor device to vertical iue 17.

The steam-motor device 16 may be of any suitable type; but We prefer to use a two-cylinder engine, as shown in Fig. 3. Connected to the left-hand side of this engine and Within the casing 24, which wholly incloses the engine, is an air-pump 25. The piston 26 of air-pump 25 is rigidly connected to the piston 27 of the left-hand engine. Consequently the pump and engine pistons have a corre- IOO spending movement-thatis to say,the pumppiston moves at the same speed as the enginepiston and has a definite stroke.

Situated outside of the engine-casing is a regulating-Valve for the air-pump. This valve consist-s of a body 28, provided with the threaded hub 29 on its righthand side, through which the body is connected to the pump-cylinder by means of the exteriorlythreaded tube 30. The upper end of the body is also threaded to receive the adj listing-screw 3l for the valve 32 and is also threaded at the bottom to receive the adjusting-screw 33 for the valve 34. The valves 32 and34 are provided with winged guides. Situated opposite the guides of the valve 32 is a screw 36, adjustable in the threaded opening 37 of the body 28.

Having refereneenow to Fig. 6, the drawing on the right indicates the clearage-space underthe pump-piston 26 when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 4-,that is to say, when the pump has the smallest clearagespace beneath it--the drawing on the left indicating the clearage-space when the screw 36 is moved outward, as indicated at the dotted lines, to increase the clearage-space. Connected also to the body 28 is a pipe 38, leading to the under side of the air-tank 15, thence to air-gage 39, and by pipe 40 to the upper part ot' fuel-tank 14. 41 indicates a valve between pipes 38 and 40; 42, a pipe from fuel-tank to injector at burner, (indicated in the drawings at 43;) 44, a fuel-valve in the pipe 42. 45 is an air-valve in the pipe .38, through which air may be introduced in ton causes the valve 34 to be lifted and air to enter into the clearage-space under the piston and between the valves 32 and 34. As the piston of the pump descends it compresses the air in the clearage-space and lifts the valve 32, the air passing through the pipe 38 to the air-tank 15 and resisted in its passage by the pressure of the air from within the tank. As the movement of the pumpplunger continues through the action of the engine the air-pressure in the tank 15 gradually increases until the pressure over the valve 32 is equal to the pressure under the valve 32. When this point is reached, the Valve 34 will no longer open and the pumppiston 26 will work in dead-air. The pressure which the pump-piston will exert will depend upon the amount of clearage-space. The greater the clearage-space the less the pressure. Should it be desired after the airtank has been pumped up to open the naphthatank for the purpose ofintroducing fresh fuel or for other reason, the valve 41 between the pipes 3S and 40 can be closed. By doing so the air under pressure will be confined within the air-tank and the only loss ofvair will be that which at the time exists over the fuel in the fuel-tank. After the fuel-tank has been lled and closed the valve 41 can be opened, when air from the air-tank 15 will be conveyed through the pipes 38 and 40 to the fueltank, as before.

By the arrangement of parts as described it will be observed that ai r-pressure is always available, whether the vehicle be at rest or in motion, and without the employment of any auxiliary pump.

Having thus described our invention, we claim-'- 1. In a motor-vehicle, the combination of a steam-engine, an air-pump having a definite stroke and driven by the engine, a casing inclosing the engine and pump, and a pressure-regulating valve for the pump located external to the casing.

2. In amotor-vehicle, the combination with the vehicle-body, of a motor device suspended below the vehicle-bod y, an air-pump carried by the motor device and independent of the body of the vehicle, an inclosing casing the casing wholly enveloping the air-pump and engine, an air-tank, a fuel-tank, and the interposed pipe connections.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM JAMES LANE. GEORGE LANE.

Witnesses:

J. E. PEARsoN, C. E. S'rEcHER.

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